One Tainted Secret
by kt doll
Summary: A different perspective on Xiaoyu and Jin during Tekken 3. A story that reveals the unwritten bond between the two orphans that is natural, mutual and destined. For mature, literary readers.
1. An Extraordinary Girl

One Tainted Secret

Chapter One: An Extraordinary Child

By: Michelle

(Note: EXTREME REVISIONS. This story takes place during Tekken 3. Major characters and their bio belongs to Namco. This version of their story is all me, respect.)

* * *

Ling Xiaoyu was the orphan, the stowaway, who took over Heihachi Mishima's yacht during his visit to China. An "Extraordinary Child" who brought down all the men aboard. It was headline news. She was only sixteen years old.

This China girl had a troubled beginning. Her father was a traveling merchant who spent much of his time away. Her mother was a needy wife and a simpleton who did nothing but wait at home for her husband's return. After many years of miscarriages and giving birth to dead babies, her mother became a washed out character with no mind to speak for her own. Xiao's father was probably to blame for this - he provided the necessities but no comfort, all he wanted from his wife was a son, nothing else.

When Ling Xiao was born, her mother was so absent-minded from loneliness that she could not register her duty as a mother. She took long naps with a pillow over her head to block out the crying, left her baby crying for hours in her crib. For two days, she did not change the baby's diaper. Uncared for, Xiao was a sickly baby.

One afternoon, when Xiao was six years old, her mother lost her at the supermarket. Left her or forgotten her, Xiao was never found, perhaps purposely.

_This is life, the only thing in the world you can control was your breath_, Wang Jinrei would teach her this.

He found her one day sitting in one of his apple trees eating his apples. She had no shoes and smelled of urine. The small child was light in his arms. She had come down from the tree willingly when he called her sweet names, unafraid and sanguine.

"How extraordinary," Jinrei said, mesmerized by the purity of her eyes. "A little bird in my tree."

Jinrei was a bachelor all his life before he surrendered himself to the life of a monk in the mountains. He did not speak of his life much except for the importance to finding a good friend, a noble companion, especially when one does not have a family. He had lost a very close friend once. But in return, in finding Xiaoyu, he found a granddaughter.

He took the small child to his cottage in the mountains and raised her. She cried a lot at night, sometimes very violently, thrashing her limbs, nearly knocked out one of his teeth once he tried to hold her down.

"Steady, little bird," he coaxed her during her fits. "One day, when you are ready, I will let you use your wings."

Jinrei guided her daily. Instead of punishing her, he had conversations with her. Both of them could be sitting by the water's edge for hours, Xiao tracing her hand in the sand while she listened to him articulate about the importance of living life as it happens. To find happiness, he said, we must create it ourselves.

Amusement parks became the only thing that mattered to Xiao. She filled the empty void of her parents with the pursuit of building an amusement park of her own.

To Wang Jinrei, this was an absurd dream, an unattainable thing, but he never said a word to stop her from dreaming. He supported it by keeping her grounded, teaching her how to fight instead.

The thrill, the happiness, the magic - she wanted to create a world like this. About herself she was aware of only two things: amusement parks and chances to live her life to the fullest.

* * *

It couldn't be helped. Xiaoyu became obsessed with the Mishimas.

All those magazines and newspapers on display, all the time on the news: the Mishima Zaibatsu. Mishima Industries. It was an empire. They had their own mercenary group, the Tekken Force. Jinpachi Mishima. His son, Heihachi. His grandson, Kazuya. Their faces were familiar globally.

The bloodline stopped at Kazuya, but there was still speculation about the Mishima family tree. There were secrets, tainted ones, very hidden ones. There was even a major theory about Kazuya's secret love-child with a young woman named Jun Kazama. It was such an inexplicable scandal that a myth was created from it.

The Mishimas were known world-wide, becoming a sort of royalty. Their Zaibatsu legacy, the astounding industrial and financial power they had over the world, Xiaoyu filled her mind with their history for years. She was consumed. It filled her dreams, to one day meet someone with that much power over the world, who could give her a chance to build her dream.

Particularly Heihachi Mishima, the current man in power of Zaibatsu. She read that he imprisoned his own father, Jinpachi, to rule the Zaibatsu throne. Blood relation meant nothing to Heihachi. Stories went as far as to say he threw his own son, Kazuya at age five, into a volcano to test his strength. People titled him an "evil-made" man after he took over the Zaibatsu. His faces on countless magazines but he never did interviews. He was the perfect portrayal of the evil that silently lurked in the hearts of men with power.

Though he was a heartless man, Heihachi rewarded people he deemed extraordinary. Thus, he adopted her quickly. Not because he saw her as a daughter, or a granddaughter, or a niece, or someone to dote on. He adopted Xiaoyu because he found her devil-may-care attitude remarkable for one so young. He gave her the chance she wished for.

The Mishima Zaibatsu is the main sponsor of the King of Iron Fist Tournaments. If she won, Heihachi promised, she would win her amusement park. In this way, Ling Xiaoyu became the youngest to ever enter the King of Iron Fist tournament.


	2. Unaccustomed Earth

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Two: Unaccustomed Earth

By: Michelle

* * *

Normally a quiet minded girl, Xiaoyu kept thoughts to herself about her knew living environment. Glamorous and luxury could not describe the Mishima Manor enough. She was stunned by the Mishima home, admiring it for several minutes like a tourist before following the manservant into the grand foyer, busy admiring the interior intricacies of the mansion. She noted with awe the high ceilings, the Doric pilasters, the pedimented window lintels.

The manservant informed her which parts of the manor she was allowed and which parts she could not trespass, speaking fast and never making eye contact. He led her up two flights of stairs to her quarters, his right hand pointing to the library, telling her if she ever got lost her bedroom was next to the library.

Her bed was larger than her little corner space she had at the mountain cottage with Wang Jinrei. Sitting on it now, an appreciation washed over her. She now had a bed. A room of her own.

When the manservant left and she was left alone, Xiao felt her heart leap. She wasn't sure if it was joy, but it felt like she was getting somewhere. There was also a mixture of abandonment. The heavy thud from the door closing resonated in her head. Her bedroom, so big, felt like many eyes on her.

She spent the next thirty minutes walking around her bedroom touching things. There was so much space, her room very vast with a sitting area and a fireplace. The bathroom was a marvel. All things were shiny and new, as if just built. With a push of a button there comes a flat-panel television that appears from behind a hiding spot in the wall.

There was trouble adapting to such change in atmosphere, run-down rural China to high technology Japan, but Lucy made it better.

"Five minutes, Miss Ling," Lucy walked in with this announcement. She was sixty-four years old with her hair in a knot no larger than a walnut. Behind her was the manservant pushing in a dolly. Garments hung from it. Beautiful silk dresses in simple design, pleated and pressed.

Lucy disappeared into the bathroom. Xiao heard water rushing and Lucy's shoes clinking about the marble floors. When she finally emerged, Xiao saw what was prepared for her: a bath.

If Xiao were to imagine how a mother might be, loving and dear, Lucy would fit the mold. She was kind and patient and hummed a melody that could instantly brighten Xiao's spirits. Especially in the mornings, when Xiao would wake in a terrible state of uncertainty.

"Time, dear, it all takes time to adjust," Lucy was soft and never rushed with her guidance. She had Xiao's school uniform laid out and fixed her hair in two high pigtails, a hairstyle Lucy thought looked sweet on young girls.

Xiao never had trouble with her reflection until now. Almost like an impostor. Being here in another country, she felt out of place, unsure how to act in her new crisp clothes and freshly washed hair that smelled of lavender.

She took a moment to recollect where she came from. Years were spent in nature growing vegetables with Grandpa Wang. Digging through dirt like an animal. Pulling carrots and onions and potatoes and herbs and cleaning their roots and eating them at dinner.

She looked at her hands. No dirt under her fingernails. Polished, clean.

"Your life is in your hands now," said Wang Jinrei the night before she left. He did not try to convince her out of her dreams. He only reminded her of his promise that, when she was ready, he would let her use her wings. She did not see the tears in his eyes because he closed them in meditation.

* * *

First day of school. Mishima High.

Xiaoyu managed with her Japanese, her tongue was used to the heaviness of Mandarin, she had to work her mouth a different way to properly pronounce words.

_Time_, she remembered Lucy saying, _it takes time to adjust_.

First class: Introduction to Psychology. She was late. When she walked into the classroom, it alarmed her a little. Many eyes were on her. They recognized an outsider on unaccustomed Earth.

"Ling? Are you Ling Sh-Shah-" the professor struggled.

Xiaoyu winced, embarrassed by her name. Like she was causing the professor pain just by being who she was.

"I'm sorry if I pronounce it wrong," the professor smiled. "Care to introduce yourself to the class?"

Xiao stared back at the class, so many faces puzzled by her existence. She wanted nothing more than the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Instead, she diverted her eyes and opened her mouth, exhaled loudly, relaxing her tongue before she spoke.

"You can call me Xiao," she spoke slowly. "I am from China, adopted by Master Heihachi Mishima."

This was news. Everyone in the class turned and whispered loudly to each other, making glances to a young man at the back of the class. He was bigger built than the rest of the boys. It was hard to see his face, covered by loose strands of hair, but it was plain to see how handsome he was.

"Then you must know Jin Kazama," the professor said cheerfully. "Master Mishima is his grandfather."

Jin did not seem the least bit interested in what was going on. A pencil in his hand scribbled on a sheet of paper.

Xiao was confused. Old man Heihachi did not say anything about having a grandson. She did not remember reading anything about a grandson in the Mishima bloodline. Being adopted, it dawned on her that she was now a part of the Mishimas. Would he be my family, my brother? she wondered. It was a very awkward situation, Xiao decided not to think about it as she took the empty seat next to Jin, who did not pause in his scribbling.

The professor started her lecture, her back to the class as she wrote notes on the board. Everyone had notebooks out as she wrote on the chalkboard today's chapter.

The class dragged on and on and soon many heads around were slumped down on their desks, asleep. Xiao, on the other hand, stayed wide awake. It was a first experience, being taught in a large classroom, Wang Jinrei had home schooled her. As an outsider, it was exciting to be a part of something.

A wadded up piece of paper hit Xiao's head. Busy with notes, it took a moment to register something had hit her. She stared at it, the balled up paper on the floor by her foot.

"Hey!" someone whispered sharply, not loud enough for the professor to hear but loud enough for Xiao to consider it urgent.

Xiao touched eyes with a girl from across the room. She had short brown hair and a pretty face. Her finger was pointing at Jin, Xiao understood that's who she meant to hit. She picked up the balled up piece of paper off the floor and struggled. She was nervous to give it to Jin.

"Hey," Xiao tried.

Jin looked in the zone. Eyes straight ahead.

"Hey, _Jin_," Xiao tried again, blushing a little when she said his name.

He looked at her.

"It's for you," Xiao held out the wad of paper, pointing to it with her little finger.

Jin had a strange expression on his face, one that made Xiao very unsure about herself. Maybe he didn't hear her. Maybe she pronounced something incorrectly. A great big wave of shyness washed over her suddenly. She had never felt this way before and, not knowing that to do, she threw the wad of paper at Jin. He blinked as it bounced off his forehead. It landed on the floor between their desks. Neither made a move to pick it up.

Horrified, Xiao straightened her posture and stared down at her notes. She did not look at him for the remainder of the period.

The bell rang. At the end of class everyone exploded out of their chairs and stampeded out of the classroom. The hallways were crowded, like everyone else Xiao walked shoulder to shoulder, waddling through the masses.

"Xiao!"

It was the girl who threw the note, her brown eyes smiling. She introduced herself, a freshman like Xiao, her name was Miharu.

"Where are you headed?" she asked.

Xiao took a moment to look at her schedule. "Creative Writing," she said.

"What? Let me see," Miharu came close to Xiao. She smelled sweet, pomegranates Xiao guessed. Miharu's eyes were quick scanning the schedule. "Lucky you, you have lunch with me," she said matter-o-factly. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder, "Look for me at lunch. See ya."

* * *

It was lunch time. Xiao arrived early when no one yet came, the cafeteria tables were empty except for a few already seated rummaging through lunch bags. Miharu was no where to be seen.

Hastily, Xiao beelined for the girls' restroom but it was crowded. It was more of a hang out, girls chatting, standing in front of the mirror complaining this and that, fixing themselves, had their phones out, some lit cigarettes, one girl squirted perfume everywhere to defuse the smell, no one using the restroom.

Xiao locked herself in a stall. She listened to the girls talk about boys and nail polish. They laughed and giggled a lot. Called each other horrible names, but in a loving way, "You stupid bitch, I love you." They shared lip gloss. They evaluated each other's hair before rearranging it. They seemed happy and carefree about everything. This, Xiao deduced, was girl world.

"That's all you're eating?" Miharu finally made it to the cafeteria.

Xiao was eating by herself. She had bought two chocolate bars and a carton of chocolate milk.

"Girls here don't eat like that," Miharu said it as if it were a rule.

Xiao gave a small laugh. She wanted to say something, funny or clever, but what. How does one socialize in girl world?

"So how do you like your classes?" Miharu asked. She remained standing. Arms crossed as if waiting for a gentleman to pull out a chair for her to sit.

"Okay," Xiao said as two other girls sat down at the table.

One was tall, tall like a tree, with gorgeous brown hair that rested on her shoulders in waves and curls. The other was short, about Xiao'se height, with short blonde hair. The blonde had on a polite smile and the brunette nudged Miharu for an introduction.

Miharu finally sat. "Xiao, this is Audrey and Pricilla. Guys, Xiao's new from China."

"China? How's that?" Pricilla asked, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, accenting heavily the word China as if she had never heard it.

"Same blue sky, same green grass," what else was there to say? Her life story? How she was all over the news after the Mishima yacht take-over? Instead Xiao explained to them about being in the tournament.

"Iron Fist?" Pricilla gasped.

"People are traveling from all over the world to attend this fighting tournament, but it's not easy to get accepted in," Audrey looked Xiao up and down, "How did _you_ get in?"

"She's adopted by the old man who runs it," Miharu answered for Xiao.

Pricilla shrieked.

"You lucky girl," Audrey said with a quivering smile.

"Oh…my…God, you guys," Pricilla said slowly. "Jin Kazama."

Xiao was slightly confused at the turn of the topic, how it managed to get switched to Jin.

"I know," Miharu shook her head. "I had to work hard to get into the upper division psychology class with him. And new girl here _lives_ with him."

Flashback of the note mishap caused Xiao to lower her head, hide her blush. "Is he," she was reluctant to ask, "a mean person?"

"You guys, there he is," Audrey ignored her, in awe, pointing to the other end of the cafeteria.

Jin walked in alone. With hair covering nearly half his face it was difficult to see what it was he was searching for. He seemed older, his manner unhurried and placid. He wore no expression.

Audrey stood up. "I'm gonna do it."

Miharu snorted. "Good luck. My note attempt failed this morning," she winked at Xiao.

Xiao was amazed at how shameless they were about their attraction to guys.

"Rumor has it that he already has a little American girlfriend," Pricilla rolled her eyes.

"You don't even know if that's true," Audrey countered. "Doesn't matter anyway," she left quickly to catch Jin before he disappeared.

"It is true, I saw her pick him up after school one day," Pricilla whispered after Audrey left.

"Stop stalking him! He has enough of those," Miharu shook her head. She turned her attention to Xiao, her face suddenly serious. "It's a fact though: girls and their mamas."

"And they are never the same after they had their share of Jin." Pricilla whispered softer, "I mean, look at Audrey's desperation."

Xiao wasn't sure if she was supposed to ask questions if she was being told all the answers.

Jin looked kinda bored as Audrey was talking to him. She twirled her pretty brown hair and lightly touched his chest as she laughed at something she said.

Xiao cleared her throat and stood up. "I'm gonna get more milk."

"Hmm," Miharu tossed some money, "grab me one too."

"Yeah, me three," said Pricilla.

At the concession stand Xiao loaded her arms with milk cartons. People seemed to purposely run into her, someone flipped up her skirt from behind. After paying, clumsily, she turned and in her haste collided into someone. She hit the ground hard. One milk carton busted and sprayed all over her.

"You knocked her out, Kazama," a male voice, unfamiliar.

"White panties, uninspired, but classic," another male voice.

Large hands underneath her armpits pulled her up to her feet. It was Jin, two of his friends beside him. Audrey was back at the table with the girls, their heads together giggling. Xiao stood there, nonplussed, while the upper division guys walled her in.

"Look at her hair," said one of the guys.

"She's a freshman, man."

"CHINA!" one yelled in her face, their laughter roared.

Jin didn't laugh. "She's in my psychology class."

"My milk," Xiao remembered aloud. She searched the ground. There was a carton next to one of the guy's foot. When she reached for it he kicked it away.

"Man, let's go, she's boring," he said when she did not react.

The two of them walked off. Jin stood there.

"Here," his big hand held the two remaining milk cartons. Big hands covered with white bandages. "Welcome to Mishima High."

* * *

Lucy came in and said fifteen minutes until dinner was served.

"Thanks, Lucy," Xiao yawned, dropped her pencil and stretched. The last hour was spent writing in a journal, a project in her Creative Writing class.

Every night at exactly eight o'clock dinner was served. It is the only time Xiao saw Heihachi. Master Mishima was a strict man who followed a strict agenda. Tardiness of any sort was not tolerated. Last night she showed up five minutes late and, as punishment, no chocolate brownie for dessert. For a man of high importance, a formal attire was expected, which explained the light blue dress on Lucy placed on the bed. Out of her uniform and into the dress, she took out her pigtails and brushed out her hair.

She arrived a few minutes early to the dining room. The table was already set and prepared. Xiao stood next to her chair with hands clasped in front of her, just as Lucy taught. She was soothed by the chill of the air-conditioning, by the beautifully carved plaster ceiling, by the servants' voices that echoed pleasantly in the marbled interior behind the dining room doors.

Someone entered.

"Good evening, Master Mishi-" she trailed of when it wasn't the old man.

Jin walked to the opposite side of the table and stood next to his chair. He was dressed in black and his eyes were on her, dark and gleaming. The dim lights in the room made him, if possible, look even more desirable.

"Good evening, children," Heihachi declared loudly as he made his way to the head of the table.

Xiao greeted politely. Jin bowed respectively.

"Sit."

The first course was brought out, and after they were all served, Heihachi spoke again.

"Xiaoyu, I don't think you've met my grandson yet."

Jin was still watching her, his eyes sensing a familiarity, as if he knew her already. His good looks sent Xiao straight into girl-world, a place where she was most uncertain with herself. She literally _craved_ him. But for what?

"Just like you, he's an orphan."

Heihachi was quiet now, nonchalantly sipping his soup. The main course was served. The silence stretched long and felt strained. Xiao peeked up at Jin, his expression unreadable, blank as usual. That was all for an introduction.

* * *

After dinner, she retreated back up to her room to read the assigned chapters for psychology. The chapter dragged on and on and she ended up just scheming through the entire chapter. She answered the study questions in the back and shoved the book away. There was a need to stretch her legs.

9:26 p.m. Curfew was eleven. Donned in shorts and a sweater, Xiao headed out for a run.

The weather felt great. There was a slight chill, but not freezing, mild wind. The night was quiet. Only the rhythm of the pebbles crunching beneath her tennis shoes were heard. She jogged on for another mile.

The Mishima mansion was heavily guarded, surrounded by a thick forest. During her run she noticed the dojo was separate from the mansion, closer to the forest, where there is a clearing fenced off. Inside she could see a light on in one of the practice rooms. Someone was there, a shadow moved about inside.

The bushes to her left rustled. Before Xiao could react a giant figure leaped out. Her mouth was clamped and she was tightly held from behind.

"What are you doing out so late?" the deep voice put a chill down her body.

Quickly, she twisted her body and side stepped. Once her arm was free she swung it, aiming for the head but hit the shoulder instead. There was a stumble. Quickly she threw herself at her attacker, screaming as alarming as she could. Caught off guard her attacker fell, landing with a grunt, with her on top. She sat on his chest, her knees holding his arms down. She searched his face, but it was too dark to see.

"Let go of my head," he demanded. He coughed but did not struggle. He placed his hands on her knees but did not push them off. Then she froze, Xiao knew exactly who it was and jumped off him.

"Were you following me?" she squinted into the darkness.

Jin stood up, grass and dirt stuck on his sleeves. "The forest isn't safe."

"I wasn't going into the forest," she said. Fired up, she felt she had to say something, "I would prefer not to get involve with whatever it is you are out here doing."

"What is it you think I'm doing?"

"That you have a girlfriend." She shouldn't have said that.

"Is that what you learned at school?" he humored her.

"Everybody likes you."

"What else?" he stepped closer.

"I don't, I mean-I don't know you...really." She put her lips together to shut them. He was standing very close to her and a tingle ran down her back.

Jin was quiet, then serious. "So you're the orphan?" he asked.

Xiao nodded.

"You're the one?"

"Yes," she answered without knowing what he meant.

Jin's eyes slowly lowered to her lips. He seemed pleased. Enlightened, he had no more questions.


	3. Follow the Hooded Jacket

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Three: Follow the Hooded Jacket

By: Michelle

* * *

No boy was ever so cool and aloof. Jin gave off the sense of having graduated into the next mysterious stage of life. The school halls seemed to echo his whispered name: Jin was the syllable on every girl's lips. Even the female professors spoke of his good looks, disregarding his longish oily hair.

The girls were right in choosing to love Jin, because he was the only boy who could keep his mouth shut. By nature Jin Kazama possessed a discretion. On the soccer field, or naked in the locker room, Jin never spoke to the other boys of the perfumed love letters slipped secretly into his backpack. Never mentioned the hair ribbons or chocolate chip cookies, carefully wrapped in foil, that showed up randomly in his locker.

No one knew much about the girls who went off with Jin. They were the dangly-earring type, with perfect hair and a dainty waist. Typically rich girls with their own car, they waited for him after school, chewed gum loudly and waved excitingly at the sight of him. Once they got him in their passenger seat they took him home and tried to keep him. In bed, they spoon-fed Jin desserts, wiping his mouth with the bedsheet before tossing the bowl away and melting in his arms.

These hot sessions never lasted long. He was gone by the time they woke, the dent of his head still on the pillow, a sad empty space for any girl-in-love to see. At school, he walked by them as if nothing happened.

From the classroom window Xiao watched him, out under the trees, alone and irresistible, sitting cross-legged. When he got up she noticed the light dirt stains on each buttock. Jin rose to full height, zipped up his jacket and pulled the hoodie over his head.

Her desire for him grew slowly, silent and magnificent, but she was private about it. She did not like Audrey, and she felt that it had something to do with Jin that Audrey became spiteful and inwardly competitive with girls. She did not want to become that kind of girl because of a unrequited crush.

Only at school did Xiao openly stare like a school girl. Never from across the dinner table, not with his grandfather present. Things at home were different, and she thought it odd that she rarely saw him.

* * *

It was opportune having the library in her quarter. It was easy, coming home with a load of research to do, to become absorbed with her study here. The quietude and stillness was pleasant, plus she was never disturbed. It was the only place Lucy did not come, respecting the methodology of Xiao's schoolwork.

Two hours, that was the max time Xiao could allot her head in the books. Her eyes lingered tiredly over pages of notes in front of her. She dropped her pen and stretched her fingers. She stood up, arms up stretching, arching her back like a cat.

Xiao came back from the library more tired than from practicing in the dojo. Once in her room she fell on couch next to her window. It overlooked the gardens, the fountain with the statue, a proud Heihachi, in the center. Mental weariness slowed her down to rest. She decided to nap until Lucy came to prepare her for dinner.

A phone call woke her instead of Lucy. The bedroom was dark.

"So, have you given it any thought yet?" It was Miharu.

Xiao yawned. "Thought what?"

"Halloween party? Remember?"

"I can't," Xiao said without thinking, rubbing her eye, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Why not?"

Something tapped against the window. Little light taps. Xiao thought nothing of it; perhaps the beginning of rain. She picked her sleep boogers while Miharu tried to convince her about Halloween.

"It's totally exclusive. All upperclassmen," Miharu went on.

A thud, similar to the sound of a small animal, like a bird, hitting the window, three times. Xiao held the phone away from her ear, listening. It was dark outside and hard to see out.

"Last year was a little packed. They're renting out two cabins this year."

Xiao moved over by the window. Dim lights lit the pathways of the garden and the fountain was shut off for the evening. The sun was beautifully setting and her sleepy eyes drifted off with it, remembering pleasantly how the sun would set over the mountains in China.

Then, out of nowhere, a hooded figure walked by. Across the ledge of her window. Xiao fell backwards, thrown over by absolute fright. The phone dropped, clattering loudly across the wooden floor, Miharu's blabbering voice shut off in mid sentence.

Silence and heartbeat.

Time seemed to slow as Xiao's heart raced up to her eardrums like stampedes and fanfare. It wasn't panic, but sleepiness and abrupt trauma that caused such an anxiety. The hooded figure stood facing the gardens, looking down below, looking as if to jump, she saw only the back of it. Calmly as she could she searched for the phone. It was in two pieces on the floor from where it fell, the battery popped out.

The hooded figure jumped. When she pressed her face to the window she could hardly see, but straightaway she knew.

It had to be. Fright wiped away the moment it clicked. She recognized the stride in which the figure walked. Hands in pockets. The sultry sway of the shoulders. Xiao watched, mouth gaping, as Jin walked toward the forest.

In a frenzy, Xiao stripped and jumped out of her school uniform. She pulled on a grey hoodie and matching sweatpants, her usual dojo attire. Quickly, she unlatched the window and cracked it open. Cold air seeped in and made her blink tight. It was a creepy chill. She paused for only a second. A thought about putting on an extra layer of clothing, about it being way past curfew, she thought about locking the door lest Lucy came in and found the room empty.

With unsound courageousness, she pulled the window to its max opening and thrusted herself out willingly. She teetered a second on the ledge, maybe for all the paranoia to wash away, maybe for some senses to convince her out of it, but there was something unquestionably thrilling about the mere sight of Jin's hooded jacket walking toward the forest. She had to follow it.

* * *

The forest was dark, a little foggy. The moon gave a pale shine over the trees and leaves, everything had a fake grey appeal. Far ahead Jin walked a confident stride, his fast pace made it clear he was familiar with the forest grounds. His deep even breath gave off puffs of smoke that seemed to linger long enough in the air to touch Xiao's face as she followed clandestinely from behind.

She pulled down on the strings of her hoodie, struggling with the cold and slippery with her footing over the big tree roots. She had been battling with her conscience since she left the window. The biting cold made her realize how foolish an impulse this all was. There was a question she afraid to answer: was she _stalking_ him? She had been following him for the past twenty minutes and, it dawned on her heavily, now she was stuck with him - she had no idea how to get back - he was her only way out of the forest.

Suddenly Jin stopped. Caught off guard Xiao made a loud halt, unbalanced, her feet crunched over the leaves skittishly. His face turned slowly to the right, as if listening.

"Quit following me," his tone was that of annoyance.

Almost, her heart stopped. But, listening carefully, she heard someone else was there.

"It's me," said a soft female voice.

A girl older than she appeared from behind a tree. Her clothing suggested she was American, the style of her hair in two long brown braids, she was wearing leather boots and a plaid button up blouse over some faded out jeans.

"Julia?" Jin was perplexed.

The mere sound of another girl's name from his lips made Xiao's gut roll sideways. Her eyes sharpened grudgingly on the American girl.

"Yes, Jin," she sounded hesitant.

"You should go home," Jin said.

Julia looked like she was holding her breath. "Can we talk?" she choked, sputtering the word 'please.'

"Not now," he stated flatly.

"Let me take you back to my place," she advanced him.

"Go home," Jin turned away as if everything was settled.

"You need to talk to me, you can't ignore me - wait, come back, don't walk away like that - _this isn't healthy for me_!" Julia screamed at the top of her lungs for him to stop.

Jin turned around and his face did not look normal.

"What happened to your reforestation idea, Julia? That's all you talk about, big dreams, _go_ do it. What the hell are you doing following me around? You think this is romance or something?" he was almost hollering at her.

Weeping noises. Sharp little intakes of breath. Apparently Jin hit some senses into her. Julia wept hard. Face in hands and shoulder spasms.

"Look, you wanted in on the tournament for your research and I helped you out, got you in," he looked her up and down disapprovingly. "Your mother should be proud."

"Jin, don't go," she pleaded, stepping closer to him. "Please, I need your help."

Jin went back to being expressionless. "You're distracted, Julia. Get me off your mind."

Jin walked off. Julia stood sobbing to herself. Xiao lingered behind a tree and watched a girl she did not know cry. Just five minutes ago she had the worse feelings for this Julia. Jealous feelings of choking her for having had Jin. But now, hearing her sob pathetically, some sense came to her as well. Xiao wondered how much pain Julia was feeling at this moment.

Blushing deeply, she realized she could not do this to herself. To do as Julia and Audrey and perhaps many others are doing. To pursue an unattainable boy. The craziness the affliction becomes of the girl who crushes on Jin Kazama. How mad, bad and emotionally dangerous it could be to fall for this boy, she thought.

It was getting late and Xiao managed past Julia. She went on crying for another fifteen minutes while Xiao slipped past unnoticed and unsure of where to go. She had lost Jin.

After some wandering about, there was a clearing. She did not have to walk far to see Jin kneeled before a tombstone. In an open grass field. He was in the middle of it where the moon shined brightly upon a white grave. After some time, he brought his head down and touched his lips to it.

Engraved beautifully on the marble stone was the following:

Mother and Angel, Kazama Jun


	4. A Bewitched Tryst

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Four: A Bewitched Tryst

By: Michelle

* * *

She must have drifted off. The bath water had gotten cold. The candles were down to the wick and flickered barely. Her muscles were still sore from hours spent at the dojo, but at least she was relaxed and cleaned up for dinner.

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, Xiao unplugged the drain with her toe and stood up, bubbles clung to her pale slender body, goosebumps everywhere. The marble floor beneath her feet were cool. White towels waited for her on the counter and quickly she wrapped up. She brushed her hair while she checked her eyes: blood shot.

It had been an exceptionally vigorous day. The only way to quit Jin from her mind was to practice in the dojo or go for a run, which had been the strict regimen the past couple of days, to clear her mind. She couldn't focus much on school work, especially psychology, and there was much anxiety when she was close to him in class or in the hallways at school.

Dinner every evening was the worst. Sitting across from him, hearing him eat, listening to him eat, watching his mouth, twitching to her heart's fluttering. Tonight she will have to sit through it again.

Her bedroom was dark. The candles she left lit were blown out, which was odd, she thought, but perhaps it was Lucy. She traced the wall for the light switch, walking the perimeter. Her hands brushed over a door, across the frame of a portrait, lightly over someone's hard chest.

Her gasp was caught in a rather large hand. Her body was wrapped quickly and held tight by strong arms. There was so much struggle in her head she nearly blacked out, the hand over her nose and mouth did not slack, not enough air. A knee between her legs lifted her, to keep from falling she had to embrace him, whoever it was, naturally her arms swung around his neck.

"Just kidding," Jin released her.

Her knees buckled when her feet landed. She wobbled up straight but couldn't reach for her fallen towel, as he was still pressed up against her, her hands on his chest. He, too, noticed this.

"See, in order for me not to see anything, I must stand this close," he teased.

Xiao was apprehensive, yet strangely excited, like a spark that didn't quite light the firecracker. She did not move. She did not want him to move. It was beyond her, a magnetic pull that slapped together on contact, something like that, she couldn't fathom the moment yet.

Unforthcoming, she did not look up at him, she fingered a button on his shirt, unsure of what was to happen next.

"You followed me into the forest," he said casually.

Sensing no reaction from her Jin reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning in extra close while doing so. The smell of soap on her skin pleased him, he noticed there were bath bubbles still on her neck. The thought of her sitting in a bath tub excited him.

"Do you speak?" he asked her silence.

"I'm cold." Xiaoyu shivered violently.

She could feel his breath, slow and steady like an athlete, arrested by her scent. His knee began to slide between her thighs again. How awkward and good it felt, when he brought his mouth down to taste her earlobe, this uncertain tryst. She tilted her face, opening her neck for him like a flower.

"Wrap yourself around me," he whispered hotly.

He lifted her with his knee again, bringing her closer, but the moment he pressed her legs apart she stiffened. An alarm went off in her head. Reflexively, she reached for his nose and gave it a rough turn.

Jin repelled off her instantly, holding his nose. With the heat of his body so quickly gone Xiao shivered. The magic feeling disappeared so fast it left her in a daze.

Naked, she watched Jin for what he was to do next. She half expected him to vanish out of thin air, as if she imagined this whole encounter, but he stood there looking as if he had been bewitched. She reached for the towel and wrapped up, told him to turn around not to move.

He couldn't believe what was happening. "What?"

"I said turn around and don't move."

Now that she was in control of the situation, Xiao went to the dresser where Lucy laid out her dinner gown. While she dressed she got a chance to examine him. He was facing her bed, quiet, like she asked. He was in his dinner attire, black pants and a crisp black buttoned up shirt tucked in. His sleeves were half rolled up and his hands were wrapped in clean bandages.

"Why did you come here?" she asked.

He did not respond for what seemed awhile. Then he said, "I should ask you that question."

Perplexed or offended, Xiao forgot about her hard crush on this boy. Surly, she asked him what he meant.

"Look at the size of you," he said. "What kind of tournament do you think this is? Ballet?"

Xiao was furious at his mockery. She walked over behind him, feeling like a bully now, stood on tip-toe by his ear and whispered secretly, "I did follow you into the forest."

He did not turn around.

"I saw your girl," she continued. "I watched her cry."

His hand reached back to touch her.

"Is that what you came here to do? Turn me into all those other girls?"

His fingers barely grazed her hip. That was all it took. He turned around and, shamelessly, without a moment's thought, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. He picked her up and held her tightly, her feet dangling over his. There was a warming sensation in her stomach, she kissed him harder until he pulled away.

There was a smile. He looked handsome with a smile. "Is that what you believe, Xiaoyu?"

She didn't know how to answer, melting at the sound of her name from his lips, too wrapped up in the moment. Without thinking she asked him, "Was Jun your mother?"

He didn't answer. His smile just faded. She felt his hands begin to slacken under her weight, he put her down. Sullen, he made to leave. Before he left he said, "She would've liked you."


	5. In Dreams and Discipline

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Five: In Dreams and Discipline

By: Michelle

* * *

It was a depression she was not prepared for. It clashed with her daily, the feeling of inadequcy the moment she opened her eyes to a new day.

In training for the tournament Xiaoyu was at the stage of one difficult realization: she only had herself. All difficulties, dangers, and discipline depended on her mind set. On bad days, she would think so badly of herself she never left the bedroom, never slept well and, eventually, never ate.

After many bad days in a row, she shrunk in size, becoming so skinny she had no energy to practice or run. Her gait was no longer graceful. She slouched, her eyes became puffy, and she rarely spoke because she couldn't gather thoughts. Thoughts of the tournament came to her like nightmares, bullying her, questioning her ability to perform much less succeed. Try as she might, it crushed her emotionally, as it did when she was a missing child, the feeling of worthlessness.

Unlike Jin, who was under Heihachi's firm enforcement, Xiaoyu did not have that push. She was not told what she needed to improve. She was not reminded what her capabilities were if she worked hard. Her grandfather words were not here for her to militantly obey. Coachless, with no wise words to follow, she forgot her grandfather's teachings altogether. Her mind, deep in the fog of weariness, needed to be sharpened before it wasted away with bad thoughts.

It was a dismal time while autumn set in. The entire manor fell silent and mysterious. Xiaoyu spent most of her time in the library because Lucy did not bother her there. School days drifted by unattended. Calls made by classmates were not returned; she forgot their names.

Jin never showed up to dinner anymore, not since their tryst in her bedroom. This was a silent catastrophe for Xiao. Usually she woke in the mornings with a happy hope of seeing him. Running into a shirtless Jin at the dojo or watching him from a window. It gave her happiness, appreciating his existence and wishing him well.

Heihachi, for some weeks, never spoke to anyone a word.

* * *

The hallucinations started around this time, during her depression Xiaoyu saw and heard things. A pair of red eyes appearing at her from random areas in the manor, gone the instant her eyes shift its direction. The flapping of wings much larger than a bird or vulture outside her window at night. Odd markings would appear on the walls, a strange language. Sometimes, while walking back to her bedroom, the light in the hallway would dim with every step, dimming softer with slower steps, dimming out completely if she stopped. Her ears faltered because the sound of her name could be heard barely.

When asked about these things, Lucy hushed her and said it is probably the animals in the forest, the manor is surrounded by it. When Xiaoyu told her about the odd habit of the lights in the hallway Lucy reminded her that she was missing too many school days and that she needed to keep busy or the mind will wonder.

She did not go back to school. It wasn't a priority with the tournament to prepare for. After some time she came to realize why her body felt sloppy, why it was difficult for her to concentrate, why she couldn't get up in the morning and missed many days of school: there was no plan, there was no focus, there was a severe lack of discipline.

So there was a plan. To start things off, the plan was kept simple. She removed herself out of her element. Xiaoyu started a five-mile run every morning through the foggy, shifty surrounding forest she had followed Jin into, the entire grounds untrodden of its difficult topography.

Nothing within arm's length, at four o'clock in the morning, could be seen. The density of the morning fog was thick and isolating. Animal sounds flickered in the air above her, rustling the leaves around her, the noise of their eating, their digestion, their hunting. When she kept running, these sounds were merely sounds of life in the forest. If she paid attention to it, it would pay attention to her. If she stopped to listen closely, it would swallow her. It was quick how the fear came, like a net over her soul.

Within some persistent weeks, almost magically, Xiaoyu evolved a swift agility to dodge anything, almost instantly, that came up in her path without having to see it or hear it. Practicing attention to the noise around her, senses and instinct became strong and constant like a pulse, the sound of her heart was the only beat she listened to.

Deep in the forest, near the lake she swam across every morning, there is an empty tree trunk housing baby boars and a paranoid mother boar. Every morning, upon passing this trunk, Xiaoyu is chased by the protective mother. The snarl, the savage gallop of its hooves behind her, its snorting and cruel squealing sent a powerful fear through Xiaoyu.

Her mind reeled, clouded and unbalanced, lost itself in the net of fear. She was no longer agile and her speed faltered; her foot stumbling she lost her balance and twisted an ankle. Looking behind her instead of focusing forward had her run smack into a tree, in which the mother boar came at full force slamming into her side with its heavy head. The animal reversed and did it again. When Xiaoyu did not react after the fourth slam - a limp, bloodied and crumpled over surrender - the mother beast went away.

From then on, Xiaoyu ran her mornings with the boar entourage behind her, the babies having grown bigger than their mother. It took time to be able to do this, waiting for the fear to quell, but she was patient. She kept her mind fresh with encouragement, whispering to herself from time to time the awesome things she could do to chop the dummy mannequin in half, the unbelievable height in which she could jump in one standing spot and land in the branch above her.

When courage finally came she grabbed hold of it and used it persistently. Outrunning the wild boar became a goal to reach by the end of the week; she would make a timeline of such things, amongst other small achievable goals, to be accomplished and eventually mastered.

But outrunning the boars meant outsmarting all the boars. A quick right turn to trick it, a sharp change in direction to confuse it. Rapidly switching gears soon left only dust in her wake, no sign of a single snorting pig.

A month of routine and discipline built a solid strategic engine in her head. Trial and error eventually sorted out a sound method. Thus, Xiaoyu developed a grit that seemed almost far-fetched, lightning speed that a brisk turn in the neck couldn't catch up, agility that diverted nature.

She felt it. That super-human effect after outsmarting a villain (insecurity) or destroying the blasphemous monster (doubt). A sharp, highly dangerous mind had been cultivated, knowing no distraction or mercy.

* * *

Gentle warm baths were made ready by Lucy before dinner time. Xiaoyu would soak and relax the muscles every night. It pained her a little, expecting Jin to be hidden somewhere in her bedroom, the memory of their tryst still fresh.

The hallucinations, however, were still frequent. The fluttering movement under her bedsheets no longer terrified her because it was always nothing when she peeled them away. Purple hazes would follow her feet, the warming sensation hypnotizing, seducing almost, the feeling of intense pleasure crept up her spine but never reached her brain. Lucy was right about keeping busy. Dismissing it, none of it bothered her.

Xiaoyu turned out the lights and snuggled herself deep into her bed, breathed in that embracing smell pillows have when sleeping heads dream well. She thought about what her grandfather had told her, how we don't always get everything we want but in turn we have something everyone else doesn't have. Every night, at the cusp of falling asleep, Xiaoyu made sure the last thought before she fell asleep was a good one.

The dream was a strange, exhilarating one. There was Jin dressed in a long dark overcoat that covered him down to his feet, only his head exposed. The big gaping hole in his face was his mouth, wide as an apple, his eyes shut tight._ Find me. _Wind and leaves rustled by when she heard this. A flying object slammed into her head, she collapsed sideways. Slightly blurred vision, she made out Jin's bloody feet a few inches from her face, he was bleeding from underneath his overcoat. He looked down at her, eyes big as coals, his mouth missing.

The morning light was awful on her eyes. Xiaoyu rolled out of bed still in the clothes she wore the day before. But something chilled her blood and stopped her on the way to the bathroom. Standing in the corner of her bedroom was a giant panda.

Heihachi explained to her the importance of safety. Many people have gone missing, bodies have appeared in gutters and trash bins. He was afraid that the list of the tournament's registered names might have gotten to the public, thus causing a spree of killings.

"She is your bodyguard," he told her. He appeared deep in thought, his eyes looking like the ones she saw in a dream, now barely rememberable.

He made sure of this, "You are going back to school. This house..." he didn't finish.

* * *

The giant panda stood behind Xiaoyu and followed her every step.

"Hello, death," Miharu greeted it, her eyes glowing with mirth. Behind her, two girls, each with different hair, eyed the panda and then Xiao. They did not question where the hell or what the hell, it was just good to have her back.

Xiaoyu was surprised to hear this welcome, recalling their faces and names again. She had been absent a month. Apparently there was a Halloween party this weekend. She was expected to be there. Miharu had an old angel costume she could borrow. First day back and already an agenda.

"Did you bring your handsome man with you?" Audrey, the brunette, asked.

Pricilla, the blonde, hushed her with an elbow.

Their hands, pale and manicured, fluttered in the air as they gossiped. Xiaoyu made sure her bruised, chapped knuckles were pocketed as they walked down the hall to class. She listened to the girls's chitchat and made no responses. The update being: Jin was missing. Not missing out on school, but literally missing. The spoof of it all was what the old man had told Xiao, before he demanded she go back to school, how bodies were turning up dead. When she told the girls this they gasped and said it's been on the news, unidentifiable bodies with eyes, fingers and teeth missing. She had nothing to say about what happened at home. Never noticed him, she'd say. He doesn't eat dinner and she hadn't seen him in the dojo and his room was on a floor she didn't venture.

Sensing the discussion got nowhere, the girls stopped asking Xiao about the whereabouts of the most mysterious guy in school.

* * *

In literature, the class read aloud a short story to discuss.

It was a story that recounted a myth that happened twenty years ago about an angel who was seduced by the devil. The angel represented the purity of a woman and the devil symbolized the evil nature of a corrupted man. The story recounted many ways of the devil's romance and seduction, the use of distracting and sultry words, the wonderful promises, beautiful displays of material wealth and security, and although the angel disregarded all such things, the devil persisted.

Daily, followed by the devil, the angel read poetry that appeared on the walls, the lighting in the house darkened to hypnotize her deeply; in the night, his arms slithered beneath her bedsheets; in dreams, he told her she must come find him. Why? the angel pleaded, grief stricken the day the devil planted his seed in her heart.

_Because of love, you are not like others, your heart is big enough to store all the evil so that it will not harm others_, was the devil's response before he vanished.


	6. Halloween Party

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Six: Halloween Party

By: Michelle

(Note: Mature content. Happy Halloween, everyone.)

* * *

In the myth, the angel conceived a child. As the child grew inside her small belly the angel knew, the day it borne, she would become a human being. Her body will be filled with blood and she will need to eat, she will need to rest. On the day the baby arrived she will bleed, heavily, lingering close to death unitl the baby emerged; she would have a son. To reverse her blunder of being the devil's love affair, she must raise this child lovingly and right, for this human boy carried within him the devil's gene. She must raise it the just way with the purest quality of humankind - love.

* * *

There was a fourth floor at the Mishima Manor. There are no stairs leading to the fourth floor. The only way to access it was through the passage behind the walls. The entrance door changed daily and was misleading, vanishing almost, appearing as a lone corner or bookshelf or picture frame. Xiaoyu had no knowledge of this; she had only needed to see the old Mishima at dinner. But the writing on the walls, a crooked calligraphy of a strange language, one day became legible.

One day, the entirety of it, Lucy noticed Xiaoyu staring into the air with a vague, unnatural look. She watched the young girl climb from her bed and stand next to the white wall, tracing it with a finger, running a hand over it, looking at her hand as if something rubbed off. The next day, when she came to inform dinner, Xiaoyu looked up at her with wide astonished eyes and said in a still voice, "There are passages behind the walls, did you know this?"

"What gave you such thought, dear?" Lucy asked.

"I read it."

"Have you picked up some old book in the library? I tell you my darling I have no idea where those books come from," Lucy laughed, having noticed the tendency of the girl's hide out at the Mishima's library. "I've worked for the Mishimas for many years and I swear those books seem to just appear."

Xiaoyu did not take her eyes off Lucy. She said flatly, "There's a fourth floor. It's all over the walls, how to access it, it tells you how. But you have to read it fast or it washes out. It melts away if you get too close."

Lucy paused in her rearrangement of the open curtains, she took a moment to calm the chill of what she had just heard. Her eyes shifted steadily from Xiao to the wall behind her - there was nothing. She changed the subject. "Sweetheart, you'll be glad to know tonight is the Halloween party."

Xiao blinked; her face restored to its usual look. She had forgotten what she had just said.

* * *

The Halloween party was held at the old cabins in Munro Woods, a popular site for regular campers and hikers, a twenty minute drive out of the city. Though it was a favored area for day time activities, nighttime was a different matter altogether. A stroll through Munro Woods, once the sun sets, pathways become difficult to tell apart, the terrain shifts, the trees move in closer, gravestones would appear randomly, bearing no name but the gruesome cause of death. These were the stories being told around all week, the hype of it quite gratifying.

The kids who came were in the upper division of school, old enough to drive and legal enough to rent a cabin as to not drive intoxicated back. Miharu's bunch, which included Xiao, were some of the youngest attending. Much obliged to Xiaoyu's personal driver, the bunch were dropped off and to be picked up at midnight sharp.

The driver took a turn off the main road onto a very narrow road with loose gravel, pumpkins lined both sides of the street. Fake dead heads hanging off of branches bumped against the windshield as they drove through the trees, drumming across the roof. The girls huddled close, fear exciting them; Xiao, alert, in the middle. There was thunder and lightning and enough rain to dress according to it.

A mummy appeared out of the darkness holding an umbrella. A white rabbit in a raincoat. People in costumes walking the direction of the party - cabin #44.

"All right ladies," Miharu was the first one to step out, dressed as a pumpkin. Her shoulders were bare and her legs were long, the dress poof that was the pumpkin barely covered her middle, as if it were a costume fit for a child. "It's going to be a muddy night."

Audrey and Pricilla held each other's hands, both wearing long booted heels with their petite pirate costumes, their pretty faces painted on to look smudgy. Both walked on tippy toes careful not to get their shoes stuck, the mud acting like an adhesive. All of them squealed as they squelched over the mud except for Xiao, who clomped behind assuredly in rain boots.

As they entered cabin #44 Xiao looked above her, her first time to a Halloween party. An elaborate decoration of skulls, bats, and body guts hanging from the ceiling. It was dark, the air above them covered in misty smoke, bright lights flashing blindly. Music and noise and loud party-hopping people made it difficult to follow behind Miharu, who was pushing through the crowd to get to the bar on the other side. Behind her Pricilla and Audrey were squealing happily, getting touched and grabbed by guys that passed by. On the floor, something shimmery like blood but dry, fake.

Xiao had on angel wings, but her costume was simply a long gossamer nightie that reached down to her ankles. Her hair braided loosely down one shoulder, on her head a fresh wreath of white hydrangeas Miharu had made.

When they finally made it to the bar they had already had two jello shots each from the bargirl who walked around with blinking necklaces and a tray full of test tubes with steam coming from the tops. Unaccustomed, Xiao held onto Miharu's hand, dizzy and unable to control leaning too far to the left. Her hands were fuzzy when she looked at them holding on to another shot of something Miharu insisted would make her feel better. If Xiao was to learn anything that night, it was that Grey Goose was the cleanest vodka and, along with Redbull, would keep her up all night with a clean buzz.

She smiled at that, never feeling this happy before, her stomach warming and her temples pulsing the rhythm of everyone's fists pumping up high to the music. She was still holding onto Miharu's hand, watching her conversation with some guy dressed as Ironman. Xiaoyu was amazed at what was being discussed - absolutely nothing. The guy was pointing to random pieces of jewelry Miharu wore with her costume. He was probably making fun of her because all of Miharu's responses were justifications on where she got it or who gave it to her and if she liked it or not.

Xiao was fond of Miharu but grew bored and hot, the alcohol now racing through her body, and reacting in ways she never felt - like dancing. She didn't need to know how, watching those on the dance floor not too far away, she slinked from Miharu unnoticed and lost herself in the sea of crazy youths and costumes.

"Hey angel!"

Xiao put her arms in the air, waved them crazily, pecked her head to the heavy bass, the lazar lights flashing and brilliant.

"Dance with me!"

Someone lifted her by her waist and she was high above everyone else. She put her arms out and soared in one spot, legs bent upward in pose. When she was back on the ground her feet did not stop thumping the floor along with the electronic beat, hands chopping the air above her. Someone, the same masked fellow who lifted her, grabbed her hand and twirled her. Her back landed against his chest and his face swooped down for a wet kiss on her neck. His breath smelled like mint gum. He twirled her out like a yo-yo. She rolled back to his chest, caught there in the tight brace of his arm.

"Nice one, angel," he cupped her breast, his thumb rubbing the hard center.

Xiao pushed away. She literally ran off the dance floor, going anywhere else. Something in her gut did not feel right, not with him. She had had this feeling before, a tingly sensation that crawled up her neck, that night when Jin hid in her bedroom, an attraction she felt so strong that she kissed him. An attraction, she was sure, that almost felt that it could be permanent. It was a crush she was not prepared for, and she would have missed him tragically if her schoolwork and practice did not keep her strict with duty and routine. This set her apart from her school friends, who went out of the way to seek attention of those they crushed, getting high from the emotional drama of young romance, getting spiraled out of control in the love game, getting "F's" on exams and papers due to negligence.

She found herself walking down a long crowded hallway. Every one, she noticed, had a mask on like the fellow on the dance floor. She tried not to look at the masked faces as she inched her way through, there was something creepy about only being able to see their eyes. The music didn't reach this area, Xiao realized she had stumbled into an entirely different cabin - cabin #45. Instead, she heard curious noises, moaning and groaning of rapture and of pain.

People stood around just as curiously, standing at doorways, watching but not entering. When Xiao passed by such door, she caught a glimpse of something for the first time. Naked bodies contorted in intercourse, their pelvises thrusting in a wild manner.

Xiao could only imagine, from the arousing noise they made, from the expression on their faces, how it was meant to feel. She thought of Jin, if this was his intention that night when he hid in her bedroom.

Embarrassed, she pushed her thighs together, as if she were holding in pee, she could not take her eyes away from the orchestra of pleasure. A sort of excitement took over her. She felt a warm wetness flush gently from her nether region, it's slow lingering effect making her shiver, her underwear became moist.

Shuffling away, she placed a hand over her chest, shocked at the reaction of her body. Her mind was fluttering with what she had seen.

"Audrey!"

Xiao turned her head at the familiar sound of her friend's name. Audrey was nowhere to be seen.

"She's in here," a masked guy, standing in line outside a doorway, informed another. "Wait in line, bro."

It was a bathroom. Inside, someone was with Audrey. She was leaning over, wearing a white mask, her elbows on the sink counter, and her pirate skirt was pulled up over her back. It looked like she was being pushed back and forth by someone from behind. Her long hair was loose and fell over her shoulders. She was cursing and saying Jin's name, telling him to do it harder.

* * *

Outside the rain began it's pour. People on the patio rushed inside, thunder and lightning distracting the hustle and bustle. It was midnight. Miharu was still talking to the same Ironman Xiao had left her with earlier. Her face was flushed and she had bloodshot eyes. She was carrying two drinks, one of which she immediately held out to Xiao.

"Help me, they keep making me drinks," said Miharu.

Xiao took the drink but didn't drink it, she was struggling with her breath. She had been running about trying to retrace back to cabin #44.

"Where'd you go?" Miharu asked.

"Have you seen Audrey?"

"Last I saw her was when we first took shots."

"Do you know what she's doing?" Xiao wanted to get it out quick.

"Why aren't you drinking?" Miharu noticed the drink still full in Xiao's hand. She clinked her glass to hers, "Cheers." She took a long swig and looked at Xiao with eyes gesturing her do the same.

Xiao took two large gulps, paused, then finished it off. She set the glass down heavily on the bar and said, "I just saw cabin #45." As she said this, the guy dressed as Ironman hooted, his fist pumping in the air. Around him others seemed just as excited at the mentioning of cabin #45.

Miharu held up a white mask, "They gave me this."

It was the same as the one Audrey had on. Xiao had ran off before she could see Jin having sex with Audrey, she couldn't bear to see it. She wanted to go home, a headache was coming in fast. She wanted to be in bed and sleep.

"Are you okay?" Miharu asked, noticing the color going away in Xiao's face.

"What was in that drink?" Xiao held her head.

"I don't know, Pricilla had three of them."

"Where is she?"

"She left wearing one of these," Miharu waved the white mask in the air.

Before Xiao could reply the crowd on the dance floor parted unexpectedly. Over the heavy music she heard cheers and applause, people whistling wildly in admiration.

Their attention was Jin, the gigantic span of black feathered wings behind him. He was wearing nothing but his karate gi trousers. His chest and stomach, exceptionally well-defined, had odd black markings. His forehead was bandaged, but there was no sign of blood, the wrappings clean as if it had been recently changed, except something seemed to be protruding from it. At a closer look, his lips were bruised, purple and bled slowly at a corner. One eye swollen shut looked like a plum fruit; the other one, slightly cracked open, stared absently.

Faces around him were in awe, the girls were nearly cross-eyed with magnetism. Xiao, at this point, was fully inebriated, visually impaired and functioned in a fugue state, her eyes dewy and shaking. Her heart raced, confused but enlivened Jin was here. Miharu held onto Xiao, probably out of protective impulse, for the look on Jin's face was eerie and barely controlled.

The applause halted when, without warning, Xiao's body shot over to Jin, as if she was thrown by some unusual force. Landing too hard against his chest, she collapsed down by his feet like a rag doll. He hovered over her possessively. The music stopped. Stunned with blurred vision, barely breathing, Xiao heard only her slow heartbeat, the dulled out screams wobbling in and out of her impaired ears. There were curses and loud objects being thrown and a herd of feet stampeding in one direction. There were hands trying to save her, Miharu it must've been, reaching if only for her finger to pull her out from behind Jin, but they were knocked off their feet by one powerful wallop of his wing. Xiao felt herself being raised, not by arms, by a warming sensation, purple covering around her. Once upright she stood slowly, walking like a cripple to Jin. She wrapped her puppet-like arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, her eyes closed just as he blasted through the ceiling.


	7. You Let The Devil In

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Seven: You Let The Devil In

By: Michelle

* * *

It had to be nearly dawn. His wings had shed all its feathers and receded into his backbone, closing up cleanly. His eyes were weary, still making sense of things, barely conscious to the debacle he had caused at cabin #44.

Xiao stirred a little, her hands balled tightly by her face. Jin watched her sleep. As she rested he had time to think, got up and walked around. He struggled with how to tell his story, if she would believe him. He sensed, though he hardly knew her, she could help him, there was a strength about her.

He felt it on her first day at school, her walking into class as if from another planet, that she was an outsider. She did not seek to belong and, because of her adopted relation to him, the popular girls sought her out. Despite that, she remained unaltered by their callow boy-crush ways.

He remembered that evening in her bedroom, their accidental tryst, when he pulled her close and she kissed him, he felt no bad intentions. She knew things about him but did not provoke him, as it did the schoolgirls her age. Instead, she inspired goodness. She did not shriek at him for seeing her naked but, rather calmly, demanded he turn around as she clothed herself properly.

Purity. Jin experienced feelings for her then, a kindness similar to how he felt for his mother, wanting good things for her. Human goodness brought him back, remembering there is good in life.

Shortly after that night was when it started. He began to fade in and out of his thoughts where a voice, not his own, told him things about his ancestry. Dirty, horrible things he refused to imagine possible. At first it was easy to reject, secluding himself from practice, dinner and eventually school, but all it took was for his temper, naturally placid like his mother, to lose patience with the tireless voice.

One day, when he finally lost his composure, it took hold of him. Washed away the memories of his mother and switched his mind into a morally wrong introspection. He became destructive, destroying his bedroom entirely on the fourth floor.

Seeking refuge he took to the forest, where something took a bite out of his upper arm, leaving a mark; it healed and scarred, turning black - an insignia of some sort. Then a terrible pain along his spine, were his flesh parted and black blood and slimy feathers emerged. After this he could recall nothing else except the desire to kill evil people in very brutal ways, removing them of their eyes, teeth, tongues, ears and fingers, robbing them of things humans use to feel and sense - especially their heart, which he ingested.

Being around Xiaoyu, he realized, somehow magically he was able to transform back to his normal self. Something about her kept the devil at bay. The markings on his forehead and chest faded, the expansive wings, grotesque horns and sharp talons shrunk back into his flesh.

Xiaoyu was still asleep. Her breathing was calm and steady, and he sensed she will not wake for a while. He snuggled behind her, scooping her over to him, and was soon asleep in the soft scent of her hair.

* * *

She was not surprised to see Jin upon waking, as if used to magical things happening. Intuitively, Xiao sensed something of a dangerous sort, something different about him, but she was not frightened, her heart was glad. She lightly touched the rough dry cracks on his lips, placed her hand gently against his forehead, now unbandaged and warm to the touch, she blew carefully at his swollen eye.

Eventually, he woke, his eyelids slowly opening and closing. There was a color change in his eyes, she noticed they were once black, now almost gold. She detected an epiphany in them, as if he had changed forever.

It was way past noon, but the room was dark, the gray sky unfinished with its storm. Light rain tapped the windows, they could hear it lightly trickling on the rooftops. Facing each other, lying side by side, they did not speak for a while, listening to the distant thunder, pondering each other's thoughts. She was still in her white nightie she had worn as her costume and he had on a fresh shirt.

"Are you really here?" she spoke first, speaking her thoughts. _Or am I dreaming?_

He put his hand on top of hers. He did not answer but squeezed her palm, marveling at her small fingers.

"I can't tell dreams from truth," she said softly, more to herself than to him. _For it's been so long, since I have seen you. I can hardly remember your face anymore._

"Do you remember me, Xiao?" he asked, as if hearing her thoughts.

She nodded quickly.

"Do you remember last night?"

Her eyes wandering away from his as fragments of memory came back to her of the Halloween party. Of cabin #44, of cabin #45, of his name coming from Audrey's lips. She took her hand away from his hold and rolled over on her back, facing the ceiling.

"It's a nasty place to be, Xiao," he said.

"Why were you there?" she asked.

"Because you were there."

"Why were you in cabin #45?" she meant instead.

He had no expression, no answer. All he knew was that he had found her and brought her home safe. He reached for her but she was tense.

"I'm better around you," he said, trying to ease into the story he wanted to tell her. "If you listen, I'll tell you everything," he said. "Where I've been, why I looked the way I did last night."

Xiao faced him, realizing then that he had no idea what cabin was what and that it didn't matter. He was with her now, though she couldn't remember how he brought her home.

"I've been trying to contact you," he said. "But you weren't weak enough to allow me to find you."

"Weak enough?"

"Remember that time in your bedroom?" he tried to explain. "I couldn't have you because you didn't let me. You're strong, in _here_," he put a finger on her forehead.

When she didn't respond he continued.

"I found some ways to try to reach you, but for it to work you had to respond to it."

"I don't understand," she said.

"You were sad for a long time, Xiao. Have you seen me during these times? In your dreams? Felt me beside you?" He added, "Read what I've written to you?"

"The passage behind the walls," she whispered, her eyes lit up. "The fourth floor."

"But you never came. Not much of a place anyway," he half-joked.

Xiao swallowed, her throat dry. "How did you do those things?"

"I'm something else entirely, Xiao, it cannot be explained," he didn't want to tell her more than she needed to know, maybe some other time. He reached for her again. "But with you, I'm me."

She let him touch her face and neck, it seemed to calm him. "How did you finally find me?"

"You responded, it let the devil in," he said, figuratively and literally. "Maybe you saw something at the party that made you yearn for me." Jin smiled at the embarrassment on her face.


	8. Nature vs Nurture

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Eight: Nature vs. Nurture

By: Michelle

* * *

The minor conflagration in Munro Woods was all over the news: Lightning Strikes Cabin #44. The damage left from the strike, on the roof, was no larger than a manhole. It was fortunate nobody was hurt. Everybody cleared out fast. The place was oddly deserted by the time the police and firetrucks arrived, not a single bystander nearby. Within twenty minutes they had the fire under control and, with the help of the rain, it was distinguished by dawn.

Stories circulated, of those who witnessed, recounting different scenes of what, in truth, had happened, including the activity going on in cabin #45. These were passed off as stories typical of the unexplainable things that happen in Munro Woods, though they did make for pretty far-fetched rumors that went around like fire at Mishima High, destroying a few reputations and putting the fame spotlight on some others.

Especially the news going around of Ling Xiao and Jin Kazama as a couple. It was difficult for her to accommodate to the sudden fame. More difficult was it for her to be pleasant to those who weren't so pleasant to her when she was new at the beginning of the year. Everyone surrounded her with questions on the whereabouts of Jin, where he took her that Halloween night. There were accusations of her being spotted at cabin #45.

Xiao did not remember Jin being at the party, except for when she mistook him with Audrey. The rumors did sound silly: Jin's lifelike wings and his ability to move people around by mind power. Unused to the attention, she neither objected or made response to the rumor of her and Jin being a couple. Having said that, she did not tell anybody that she had woken up in his room the following morning with large black feathers all around his bed.

* * *

On rare occasions, the Panda would accompany Xiao during her school time. Since the Halloween incident, the Panda was allowed on school campus daily, by orders of Master Heihachi Mishima, but had to remain outside the buildings.

So there it was, outside the window of whatever class Xiaoyu was in, sitting up or rolling on its back, more cuddly looking than vicious. Xiao was grateful for the Panda, she was able to avoid the scrutiny of the gossipmongers. Panda could sense if her mistress was uneasy, she stood tall and mighty, warning with her paws, those who distressed her mistress with rumors. No one came close to Panda except for a few close friends Xiaoyu was comfortable having around.

"What's his name?" Pricilla asked.

Xiao shrugged. "She responds to Panda."

"How do you know it's a girl?"

They had their lunch outside on the grass. A quiet Miharu threw her bread crusts into Panda's open mouth. Xiaoyu was lying on her stomach flipping through pages in a book while Pricilla took her pigtails out, turning them into French braids instead. Audrey excluded herself from the group, she sat on a bench shivering in her light sweater. The season began to frost, the wind and cold caught everyone off guard, the days were shorter, the brown and orange leaves swirled around in circles.

Unable to enjoy the wintry change of season, Audrey got up, scoffed and went inside. Xiao watched her leave. She caught eyes with Pricilla, who shared her same expression.

"She's pissed because it wasn't Jin who screwed her," Pricilla whispered, as if it were a secret just recently discussed.

Xiaoyu gave a quiet smile, inwardly grateful to hear that.

Miharu was cagey. Having run out of bread to toss at Panda, she now watched Xiao. Her eyes bore into her, as if she had an inkling. "Of course he didn't, he went off with Xiao."

"Are you serious, Miharu? Serious?" Pricilla exclaimed, having an attitude. Apparently there had been a spiff between the girls. "I don't care how drunk you thought you saw it, Jin didn't _blast_ through the ceiling holding Xiao by the hair."

In spite of her better efforts, Xiao bursted out laughter.

"So hilarious," Pricilla said, not laughing, starting on Xiao's other braid, parting her hair with a pinky. "Unfortunately not hilarious enough for me to get over you guys ditching me."

"I don't remember doing that," Xiao said.

"It's those drinks," Pricilla said. "I knew what those white masks were for."

"I saw Audrey there," said Xiao, referring to cabin #45.

"Poor thing," replied Pricilla.

"I found Miharu after I left, but didn't see you."

"I called a cab, girl. I got outta there way before the lightning hit."

Miharu, who had been quietly listening and watching Xiao, debated her ignorance. Finally she asked her, "You really don't remember what Jin did to you?"

"I've been hearing different stories all day," said Xiao.

Miharu told her story over again. "He didn't look completely all there in the head. He was looking at you and your body shot over to him and you knocked out. He had big wings and wouldn't let anyone near you."

"And then he blasted through the ceiling?" asked Xiao.

Miharu stopped, realizing how crazy she sounded. "How did you get home that night?" she asked.

Without having to say anything, Xiao pointed at her Panda, an indisputable scapegoat. Miharu had no choice but to let go of what she wasn't sure of.

* * *

By the time Jin returned to school, all the rumors were gone. The student body's interest shifted over to Audrey when she began dating an older guy outside of school. All the girls talked about the guy on the motorcycle.

From behind the gated school fence they could see him standing on the other side of the street at a corner cafe, his long red hair and large puffs of cigarette smoke distinctive. He appeared sporadically, once maybe twice a week, taking Audrey away on his motorcycle during her lunch break and returning her right before the bell ended school. Indeed, this gathered attention and became the height of everyone's gossip entertainment. There were guesses on where they spent their trysts and elaborate speculation on who this red-haired foreign fellow was. No one bothered to suppose if something was going on between Jin and Xiaoyu.

No longer under suspicion, Xiao didn't have to pretend ignorance when she was told Jin was watching her. Though she played it off pretty well, showing no interest, it was something she had to get used to. His presence caused a fluttery feeling in her stomach. Before he was never there, always missing from school and from home. Now he was everywhere, at every corner she turned in the school hallways and him sitting in his usual spot across from her every night at the dinner table. It made every day more exciting. Girly from contained excitement, she hugged her Panda a lot, giggled and blushed, wishing to be freely able to hug him.

At school, Jin also did not have to secret his glances over at Xiao. He watched her whenever he wanted, followed her but never approached her. The only time they interacted at school was in their Intro to Psychology class, where they were randomly partnered up to research and present a project on Nature vs. Nurture.

The idea of Nature vs. Nurture was simple: it argued whether a child's psychology is most affected by the nature of their environment during childhood or by the nurture of the child's parents. Jin and Xiaoyu argued different sides. Jin was for nurture; he affirmed that the untroubled positivity of his upbringing helped shaped the way he dealt with the world. Xiaoyu, on the other hand, opted for nature; her parents had abandoned her willingly, therefore she had to rely on learning from her surroundings to develop survival skills.

To research this, they spent long hours in the school library sitting across from each other, staying late until they were the only ones left with the light on in a secluded corner, whispering everything to each other, topics that lead to other topics, their heads close as they leaned across the table to listen heedfully, their feet interlocked under the desk.

With Xiaoyu, everything felt fresh and new, uncorrupted. She didn't speak much about her history, only that she was abandoned at a young age and taken in by her grandfather, Wang Jinrei, blood relation unknown. She had a bright mind and understood the importance of learning, and so he taught her all that he knew: to be independent and to fight for what she believed in. Wang Jinrei spent much of his time in a meditative state, enjoying the air in the early morning was his favorite. This allowed Xiaoyu to work on self-sufficiency through her adolescence, having no friends except for a strict survival ethic and a zeal to succeed.

Inspired by her honesty, Jin found himself opening up willingly, speaking of things of his past he has never before revealed to anyone. He spoke highly of his mother, Jun Kazama. He told her about the peaceful solitary forest in Yakushima where he lived until his mother disappeared. He recalled some of her teachings, how it reminded him, now without her, to remain honest and good, simply by trying to do three things: to think good thoughts, speak good things, do good actions. Though he admitted, quietly, how he started to change without the influence of his mother's goodness. The change became apparent when his grandfather took him in.

"Change?" Xiao asked about the affect of Heihachi Mishima.

Jin couldn't describe it. It was something inside him that responded to people's bad thoughts and corrupt nature, such things that became difficult to block out. He couldn't be around his grandfather's presence for long, sensing some ulterior motive in the old man's head.

He didn't want to tell Xiao this, sensing her affinity with Heihachi, whose hospitality seemed to remind her of Wang Jinrei. He had had many perplexing visions concerning his family's bloodline, but he did not want to confuse her with what she was adopted into.

* * *

They were not in their world yet. Only pass the school gates, back at the manor, behind its forest and walls, hidden from the world, would they be faraway in theirs.

It was cloud nine. Jin had never felt better, curled next to her on the bare mattress, talking, touching each other's faces, tickling, which lead to playful biting and kissing.

There was no temptation for anything more, contentment was enough, and he was beyond satisfied by the uninhibited nature of Xiao. Her mind was always active with topics and what-if questions, always with something new to bring to discussion. She had opinions and plans and wild goals of building amusement parks, of making the world happy. Jin was enchanted by her and, like a spell, he felt it necessary to protect her, to help make her dreams come true.

It was a genuine friendship. Nothing like what she had with the girls at school. Xiaoyu found Jin's personality to be humble and gentle and his affection for her was sincere. He connected to her orphan state and did not judge her lack of family history. He listened to her and responded with only the best intentions. The attention he gave her was mesmerizing, touching her face affectionately and leaning over to kiss her forehead when she said something he found dear. She felt herself blossom in ways she never imagined.

Xiao loved the naps they took. Almost every day after school, it was a secret excitement between the two. A familiarity was growing, how he molded his long body along hers in his sleep. Then, when he woke, she would feel him pressing up against her, felt his breath and lips on the back of her neck, and she turned to face him, giving him her mouth.

Jin didn't dare break the magic by going too far. His hands never ventured but stayed wrapped around her small waist, squeezing her so tight that she squirmed to breathe. Several times, Xiao noticed, in the middle of their hot kisses he would stop and roll off her, putting himself in the bathroom for a few, long minutes.

Left alone during these moments, Xiao gathered her breath. She smoothed out her hair and looked around, dizzy and a little confused, but content.

When he came back, he didn't kiss her again. He went to the closet. She watched him change out of his school uniform and into his workout trousers. Ready for the dojo, a towel around his shoulders, he bent over Xiao and kissed her lightly on the neck, said he'd see her at dinner before he left.


	9. The Suspension of Disbelief

One Tainted Secret

Chapter Nine: The Suspension of Disbelief

By: Michelle

* * *

Five years ago, when Jin was fourteen, he lived on the forest island of Yakushima. One of his fond memories, before his mother disappeared, was watching her sprinkle the left over rice, customarily after a meal, nearby the bird bath. This was an invitation for all animals: squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, possums, and sometimes deers. Nature's surprises never bewildered his mother, not even the bears that sniffed about their trash cans, calm and curious. Pure in spirit, she walked around them fearlessly, one time, even patting one on the back.

Jun was tall for a Japanese woman, her posture and poise like a ballerina's. Her walk was never hurried, she seemed to glide quietly from place to place and her face always carried a remarkable serenity. Her son thought her perfect and liked to refer to her as an angel. His eyes were filled with love and awe for his mother, but Jun's unequivocal insight felt otherwise.

She was aware her son was becoming a man. It took her breath away, nearly every manner in her son's gait to his huge appetite to the way he scratched his head when confused, gave her strong flashbacks of Kazuya Mishima.

Something else Jin inherited from his father was beginning to transition the same way his body was transitioning from boy to man.

Jun feared the devil gene with a trembling heart, sometimes feeling unsafe around her own son. Jin had been a wonderful child, always a happy baby, but once he began to show signs of his father she feared for his future.

One beautiful sunny afternoon Jin walked up behind his mother, while she spread rice for the birds, and told her about his reoccurring dream.

"I saw you as a child," he said. "And I took care of you."

He reached for his mother's hand and held her wrist up, kissing it tenderly. When his lips lingered Jun gingerly pulled her hand away. She patted his cheek motherly. Jin had the same look of adoration in his eyes, as did Kazuya when he courted her possessively and relentlessly.

She was well-aware of the fact that Jin has never been out of her sight. She protected him too much and raised him in complete isolation from the corrupt world. It was inevitable that his imagination would wonder beyond her teachings and, eventually, his body would yearn for the opposite sex. Jun realized her ways of upbringing had a consequential impact on her son: he became mother-fixated.

"Is this the same girl you spoke of yesterday?" Jun proposed a different interpretation of the dream. "You said she came from a far away place?"

"Yes, she's not part of our world," he said. "She has no parents, just like you."

"So she's an orphan?" Jun indulged.

"I think so," Jin's eyes were glowing with a thought.

"There will be many girls, Jin. But remember: there is only one love."

Jin did not understand what his mother meant. All that he was sure of was that there is only one orphan girl in his dreams.

* * *

Today, Xiao's class was reminded of the myth of the devil and angel. The story ended with the birth of their hybrid child. Half demon, half human, the myth did not reveal the poignant life of this boy child. It did not reveal the many pains and troubles the angel had to endure while transitioning to the vehement realities of human life.

The myth, however, required the suspension of disbelief. Otherwise, how else could we believe the hyperbolic contents of fairy tales and fantasy and folklore?

"Give away your disbelief," the professor said. "It is a story told through metaphors and symbols. It has all kinds of meanings."

"What happened to the baby?" a student asked without raising his hand.

"The story ends there," answered his fellow student.

"Or it could be a beginning of another story," argued another.

"See," the professor proved. "All kinds of meanings."

"Like the angel's a hooch falling for the devil?" a disrespectful male student asked.

"No."

"Don't go for bad boys?" asked a girl student.

"Not necessarily."

The bell rang. For this the professor was grateful.

"Okay everybody: I have your papers! Great interpretations on the devil, I'm pleased."

Every body stormed for their things, borrowed pencils were returned to their rightful owner, notes exchanged are stuffed into pockets and purses, desks scooted around as students squeezed past each other in the crammed aisle.

"Okay class: remember your rough draft due in two weeks! At least a ten page short story on your take on the angel's baby story. Continue on where the myth left off!"

Ling Xiao was still seated in her desk while the class shuffled about preparing to leave. She had been watching Audrey out the window kissing her fiery-haired lover.

Audrey appeared her happiest, her entire body was leaned against his, she used the same moves, Xiao noticed, she did with Jin. Remarked the signature wide-mouth laugh, the delicate hand flip that signaled disbelief. The young lovers were obvious with their appreciation of each others' bodies, Audrey's white shirt nearly came unbuttoned while her breast was being groped.

Xiao wondered if her happiness with Jin matched Audrey's happiness with her lover.

The professor walked by and held Xiao's devil interpretation essay out before her, there was a pleasant smile on her face.

"You are convincing, Ling. Nice empathy for the dark horse. You raised some good points. Still, I'm afraid the devil is worth no pity."

* * *

Audrey actually came to lunch today. There was a little disappointment on her face, but she was nonetheless ecstatic to share stories of her love life with the group. The oversexed girls reaped coitus ideas from Audrey's experiences, they blushed and giggled uncontrollably, which put her at the center of attention.

The more Xiao listened the less she was convinced what Audrey had with her foreign lover was real. Pricilla felt the same, not interested in some random boy stranger, there was much eye rolling while listening to Audrey's fables. Jokingly, she quoted their professor from this morning:

"The suspension of disbelief is required," Pricilla whispered to Xiao.

"What?" Audrey asked sharply, having been interrupted.

"Ling and I have a story to work on," Pricilla said plainly.

"Oh," Audrey turned her attention to herself again, going on about her Korean fellow named Hwoarang, a name nobody could pronounce.

"What's the story for?" Miharu, also bored of Audrey, shifted her attention.

"It's a writing class," said Xiao.

"You _write_?" Miharu was interested.

"We have to write our version of the myth," Pricilla explained.

"What myth?"

"The devil and angel myth."

Miharu looked confused.

"It's roughly about the Mishimas," Xiao said. "There was a scandal way back about Kazyua's love affair with a woman named Jun Kazama."

"Jun _Kazama_?" Miharu stated the obvious.

Xiao blinked. She had an idea. That idea walked into the cafeteria the moment she thought of him.

Jin stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria and unzipped his hoodie, the cap fell back and away from his face. Xiao felt his eyes scan the room for her and, when he saw she was sitting at the table with girls he probably slept with, he walked to the opposite end of the cafeteria and sat at the empty table near the windows. Two boys followed behind him, an entourage from the soccer team.

She slumped down in her seat, she felt his disappointment somehow.

The other day he questioned her intentions for hanging out with the _Plague_. Why do you hang out with those girls? That's what they're called, the _Plague_. Especially Audrey, he mentioned, she's totally two-face and talks like her life is fabulous when really, he also mentioned, she is an empty person.

An empty person sure had many things to talk about, Xiao derided. It damaged her thoughts ruminating about how Jin knew all this information about Audrey. Invented visions of their intimacy popped in front of her randomly - of Jin touching Audrey's face the way he did hers - and it left her with a copious amount of self-sorrow.

Closing her eyes, Xiaoyu shook off the uncertainty of jealously.

"Xiao, he's looking at you," said Miharu.

She opened her eyes, she was still holding her sandwich with both hands, it looked like she was praying before a meal.

"He's still looking."

"Probably at you guys," Xiao dismissed it.

"Um, no," Pricilla said. "I flashed my bra and he didn't flinch."

Audrey noticed, too. "Why is he looking at you like that?"

Xiao bit into her sandwich, unable to respond.

Jin was certainly intense with his gaze. He only broke it when one of his soccer teammates followed his eyes to the Plague's table and let out a long hoot and laughed, turned to high five another teammate and slapped Jin on the back.

Xiao couldn't read their lips to what they were saying, their uncontrollable laughter embarrassed her.

"You should go see what they're laughing about, Ling," Audrey sneered. It sounded more of a threat than a confident boost.

"I'm going to the library," Xiao polished off her sandwich, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. Hastily she gathered her things, pushed everything into her backpack as she chewed.

"You know he's twenty, right," Audrey sparked.

Xiao swallowed. "Twenty years old?" And still in _high school_?

Audrey twirled her hair. "I know a lot more about him than you do, deary."

* * *

She decided to walk home after school. She didn't tell Jin. It was only her and Panda walking the long way back to the mansion.

Xiao needed to clear her mind, she vented aloud during their way, saying anything that came to her mind, most of it was about ideas for her story and about Jin's age. Panda, of course, was a locked vault, all of her mistress' secrets and feelings for Jin was always safe.

"Jin is the son of the devil," Xiao said out loud.

Panda stopped, her head tilted slightly to one side, confused.

"I'm using him in my story, Panda," she explained. "I got this idea: there's a grave site in the Mishima forest somewhere, I followed Jin once. It's Jun Kazama's grave, but I don't think she's buried there. Jin thinks she's dead, but maybe she's missing."

Panda sat her big body down on the ground, nothing Xiao said made sense.

"It's just a story, Panda, I'm just talking."

The echoing roar of a motorcycle came up from behind them. It raced by them so close that Panda, out of protective instinct, picked up Xiao and held her over her head.

High in the air, Xiao saw the motorcyclist was without a helmet: it was Audrey's red-haired fellow. He made a doughnut at the end of the street and u-turned, smoke screamed from the back tire, then came roaring back toward them.

Xiao was still held in the air by Panda after Hwoarang quieted the engine. He slid the goggles off his head and wore it around his neck like a necklace. He swept his long hair back and asked a firm question:

"You from Mishima High?" his voice was thick with Korean accent.

Afraid that her panties were showing, Xiao tried to adjust her skirt to cover her bare thighs. Panda refused to put her down so she leaned her head on one hand and rested the other on her hip, looking like a reclining Buddha statue.

"The uniform gives it away, doesn't it," jested Xiao, trying to appear normal.

Up close, Hwoarang had a mean face, as if he thought badly of everyone he came across. Xiao was sure he would never smile except for evil reasons.

"Why is big beast holding you like that?" Hwoarang asked, distracted.

"Because you could be a bad boy," she answered frankly.

He shook away a thought in his head and asked the question he came to ask, "Do you know a Jin Kazama?"

"He's a bad boy, too."

Hwoarang stared at her with his beady eyes. His face was tense, as if he was going to snatch her out of Panda's hands.

"Let me give you a ride," he offered. "If you can get down from there."

Xiao politely declined, "Audrey wouldn't like it."

Flummoxed, Hwoarang bursted out laughing. "You friends with Audrey?"

"She knows more about Jin Kazama than I do."

"I know," he smirked, turning the engine on. "She's useless info."

Gunning the motorbike once, he roared away, road dust rose behind his departure.

* * *

At the mansion, Panda had her special quarters, near the dojo, where she slept and trained and fed until she was called to accompany and guard Xiaoyu.

Tired from the long walk home, Xiao clung to Panda's back during the last mile. Panda, on all fours, made it to the dojo entrance and sat down heavily. Xiao slid off sleepily, yawning, she caught sight of someone practicing in the dojo.

Jin's body was brawny and pumped from hours of training. From far away his body glistened, sweaty, and seemed to glow. The practice dummy, on which he rehearsed his moves, was nearly dismembered.

Breathing deeply, sweat dripping from his face, he walked in circles around the dummy as he adjusted his red gauntlets. Belligerently, he swung a punch that cleanly knocked off the dummy's head. It rolled to the entrance of the dojo, where Xiao stood watching him. He noticed her still in school uniform.

"Where were you?" he asked, his tension abated at the sight of her.

"Panda and I walked home," she said, stepping into the steamy dojo.

Sensing a palpable magnetism between the two, Panda went off to her quarters.

"I'm swamped at school, got a big writing assignment, had to clear my head," Xiao said, picking up the dummy's head.

Jin tore off his gauntlets and stretched his fingers. "Run into anybody on the way home?" he asked without looking up.

Xiao opened her mouth to answer but her thoughts began to race. How did he know?

"Were you meeting him?" Jin's eyes pierced through her.

"It's Audrey's boyfriend," she said.

"I know who he is."

"He saw the uniform and stopped to ask if I went to Mishima High."

"Is that so?"

Xiao sucked in breath and held it, stung. She didn't like the way he was talking to her, as if she was a liar.

"His name is Hwoarang and he asked about _you_, actually. He also offered to give me a ride home."

Jin's face was silently calculating, his eyes staring at her the same way he did during lunch. It finally registered to Xiao that he was trying to read her. He was possessive of her the same way she had jealous feelings for him. This was real, what they shared, the crazy emotions that came from a passionate bond.

"Come here," his face softened. He reached for her hand and held her palm up, grazed her tiny wrist with his thumb.

Xiao watched him bring her wrist up to his lips, kissed it affectionately, lingering, he breathed in the delicate smell of her skin.

"Jin," her breath taken away.

"You're mine, do you understand?" his eyes were captivating, all his soul shining through.

"Yes."

"I'll take care of you."

* * *

At dinner, Heihachi did not touch any of the dishes set before him. Not the sirloin, or the filet, not even the miso soup, which he normally guzzled straight from the bowl. He refused all entrees without complaint or reason and drank only black tea. His eyes seemed edgy and alert, as if an insect buzzed around him.

What was eating the old man? His steel gray hair had not been styled its usual. It did not stand straight up on both sides of his head but hung down like crinkled frayed strings, covering his face like a transparent veil. It made him look haggard and sullen and very bald.

Xiao had trouble looking at him, felt it was impolite to look at someone who was in such bad shape.

This got her wondering, while she quietly slurped her udon like spaghetti, how old _was_ the old man. If he was feeling sick. If he needed a doctor. Heihachi usually came to dinner with a large appetite and lots of ordering about, keeping the menu beside him open, looking at it frequently to change a dish or substitute a side. It seemed normal, how quick and stealthily he ate, food vanishing without Xiaoyu hearing much use of utensils or chewing, as if he picked things up and swallowed them whole.

Thoughts to herself, she hummed a pleasant tune heard off the television or the radio or from Lucy. Lost in her world of too much happiness, she couldn't remember.

"You've been in a cave," Heihachi said dourly, in a low barely audible voice, not directly at anybody.

Ling Xiao did not hear, delighting in a tune.

Jin was chewing loudly and did not hear. His steak bloody on his plate the way he likes, fork and knife held delicately in his big bandaged hands. Like all the men in his family, there was a large appetite involved with every meal. His mind was simply on the pleasure of eating.

Xiao wasn't sure she heard correctly. A sinister whisper, a snarl something-like:

"Come out, _devil_."

Her humming stopped and, without moving her head, she rolled her eyes to the corner peripheral for a glimpse at the old man.

Heihachi had his head bent downward, as if channeling a spirit from the steam of his tea. The top of the old man's head was very bald, Xiao noted again, staring at the shiny surface daringly for a reflection.

Jin's head slumped down as well, as if his head died on his shoulders, his body immobile. The fork and knife, released from his hands, clattered loudly on the table like he had fallen asleep. Small purple colors rose from his fists, nebulous.

This alarmed Xiao to the brink of screaming, but she was held in her chair as if someone embraced her to stay seated. She felt the whole weight of some unseen presence pressing down on her.

"_Don't let him in_," she heard his voice, but barely. It didn't come from across the table but like a whisper next to her ear, like the whispers they shared in bed. "_Don't react_," Jin implored.

How to _not_ react? Xiao's thoughts panicked as her eyes shifted from grandpa to grandson, disrupt with qualm. They both seemed to have fallen into a short nap, Jin's face near planting itself on top his steak.

She raised her spoon and swirled it in her miso clockwise, her attention on the floating pieces of green onion and squared chunks of tofu. She resumed humming, a nervous made-up tune. Unbeknownst her, she began to sing aloud the nonsense sentences.

"Cats and rabbits," a little she sang. "Would reside in fancy little houses. And be dressed in shoes and hats and trousers."

Heihachi moved first, inhaling himself deeply into a straight posture, the hairs on his head reaching for the ceiling like two arms stretching to catch a flying ball. His regal appearance came back to him suddenly, as if slapped back into his face.

Jin, too, awakened, his eyes wide and full of oxygen, shimmery with gold flecks. He cleared his throat, took a sip of water and excused himself. He left with an expression Xiao could not read. The steak, half eaten, was taken away by a diligent servant.

Quiet, the old man watched Xiaoyu as he gingerly sipped his tea, he was hiding an amusement. His old eyes crinkled in a way Xiao had seen only once, the day she attacked his yacht he had thrown his head back in mirth, when he rewarded her for her extraordinary feat.

Why had he adopted her? He could have easily tossed money at her and she would have her amusement park under construction. She wouldn't be sitting here now, sitting at his right hand every dinner, mindlessly chopping tofu with the edge of her spoon.

"Xiao Ling," he spoke to her earnestly for the first time. "What did you learn at school today?"

"We're studying the myth, sir," she put the spoon down and faced him politely.

Heihachi's face seem to have relaxed, the wrinkles smoothed out, his eyes watched her keenly when he asked her to explain.

Xiao recited the short story with as much clarity her memory could provide. Heihachi watched her mouth move but did not listen. His mind was rapidly putting together a puzzle.

His grandson and this orphan girl, to his knowledge, shared the dojo together, did a school project together. However he thought about it they were always in each other's path, crossing ways. They were not of blood relation or a relative through marriage, yet there was an unspoken bond created between them that was natural and mutual.

He had felt it, their affinity, when he tried to tempt the devil out of his grandson. Ever since Jin mysteriously appeared in his dojo two years ago, showed up out of the blue as a skinny and malnourished teenager claiming to be Kazuya Mishima's son, Heihachi had had a strong inkling that the devil gene might be hereditary.

"Doing another project with Jin?" Heihachi tried to worm his way into their world.

"No, I only have one class with him," said Xiao, unsuspecting of his sudden interest to speak with her.

"Like two peas in a pod, never apart."

Xiao smiled a little, "We always have dinner with you, sir, you always see us together."

A subtle grin looked dangerous at the corner of Heihachi's lips. She was a clever girl, her mind was quick to dispel an accusing question or report.

"Are you prepared for the tournament?" he asked.

A stressful headache rushed to her head, "I'm a little swamped with school, I should make a better schedule for practicing."

"The tournament begins on Jin's nineteenth birthday."

What an astonishment, Xiao was hugely relieved to hear this. He is turning _nineteen_. Audrey had blatantly lied to her, but why?

"Something I said surprised you?" Heihachi pried.

"No, sir," her eyes averted from the old man's absorbed stare. "May I be excused?"

He excused her and watched her graceful gait as she left. The servant carried away the remaining plates with the same diligence, the chair tucked underneath the table again.

Little Miss Ling, who sat obediently until she was dismissed, was not just extraordinary. Heihachi pieced it together. His trip to China had been a choice on a whim, a chance decision.

She was destined in some way, Heihachi was realizing now, for his grandson. Just as Jun had been for his son. A natural balance, it seems, of devil and angel.


End file.
